Maria Bamford’s new Netflix series Lady Dynamite is great. It is what Arrested Development fans have been crazy since that show went off the air. The pilot is a bit all over the map, but once you get past the first episode, the series really takes off. It is funny, surreal, and like nothing you’ve ever seen. Seriously, there’s nothing like this. If I were to try to explain it to somebody it would be like this: Lady Dynamite is an R-rated version of Arrested Development meets Tim & Eric’s Awesome Show with a dark, manic tone. […]

These are, in my opinion, the 8 best indie Horror Movies from the last few years. Some I just watched recently and others have been favorites of mine for quite some time. Several different sub-genres are represented here, but the one thing they all have in common is they’re all very smart movies. And all Read more about The 8 Best Indie Horror Movies of the Last Few Years[…]

I watched the documentary Finders Keepers on Netflix last night, and it was fantastic. It was funny and heartbreaking. It had a great hero and villain, both of whom went through incredibly transformative story arcs. I was laughing at and wanting to hate the seemingly evil redneck swindler, Shannon Whisnant aka the “foot man,” then minutes later he had me on the verge of tears. Then there’s John Wood who you can’t help but root for despite the terrible things he’s done. This movie has death, addiction, swearing, bickering, insane legal drama, family strife, and plenty of laughs – all centered around the discovery of John’s severed foot inside a meat smoker. […]

So I’m not sure how this site has eluded me for so long, but I recently discovered InkShares.com. They are like Kickstarter.com or IndieGoGo.com, but once your book is crowdfunded enough they handle the editing, publishing, marketing, and distribution whereas KS & IG raise the money then you have to go find all that yourself. It’s a pretty cool idea… but is it actually viable? […]

Please, please stop this “Bernie or Bust” nonsense. I generally like to stay away from politics, and will probably never (or rarely) post anything political again, but I can’t stand this movement. Sure, Bernie could be great and he’s the candidate most aligned with my own political beliefs that I’ve seen in my twenty-seven years, but it is so childish to stomp your feet and not vote for Hilary when she becomes the Democratic nominee. How could you possibly say you support Bernie then not vote and let the polar opposite candidate move into the oval office with little resistance? That is foolish, selfish, and just plain ignorant. We get it, you don’t like Hilary, but please don’t actively help Donald Drumpf by not voting. […]

So, I know I just started my website… but it has moved already. This is my new, official JoePortes.com website. I originally signed up for a WordPress.com site because it was free, and I thought it would be too costly to get JoePortes.com. What I discovered was that it would only be $11.99 for the year for the domain name and about $4.50 a month to have the site hosted by HostGator; however, I found coupon codes and promos for both and got MyName.com for $1/yr and 1 month of hosting at HostGator for .01! I figured I would test it out first, then if I don’t like their service or think it’s not worth the $4.50 I could switch to 000webhost who host sites for free. […]

So I recently discovered my new favorite literary magazine Barrelhouse. I don’t know how it took me so long to discover these guys, but their sensibility perfectly lines up with my own: they love good writing, but hate the pretentiousness of capital-L literature and writers/publications that take themselves too seriously.

They started something called the “Stupid Idea Junk Drawer” in which they post funny ideas that never manifested into longer works – and now they are seeking submissions that respond to some of their editors’ stupid ideas. […]